NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth man was sentenced Friday for being part of a bank fraud conspiracy.

United States District Judge Arenda Wright Allen sentenced 20-year-old Dominique Avery to seven years and three months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to Margaret Jahn with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Court documents state Avery was part of a yearlong conspiracy that targeted banks and credit unions and more than a dozen people and businesses. Jahn said Avery and others stole and purchased identities, and with them applied for online checking and savings accounts.

“The conspirators then caused a third party check issuing service to send dozens of fraudulent checks to various vendors and individuals,” Jahn said.

Avery was arrested in August, 2012, while trying to buy two vehicles with fraudulent checks.

Judge Allen also ordered Avery to pay in excess of $197,000 in restitution.